Electrically-powered, V/ESTOL aircraft that carry a high capacity battery pack in order to have a useful range could use that pack to operate a new type of electric landing gear system-the tactile active gear (TAG). The TAG concept is that of a smart system whose position, strain, motion and acceleration sensors detect and provide input for a software-guided precise positioning control of its long-travel landing gear legs. The long-travel TAG could enable smooth, consistently acceptable accelerations and jerk rates during steep landings with touchdowns at relatively high sink rates. This could significantly enhance the V/ESTOL performance of the TAG-equipped aircraft, particularly when programmed in concert with near-instantaneous electric autonomous modulation of the aircraft's thrust, lift, drag and tire braking. This paper presents the TAG concept as an advantage that could be developed in electrically powered autonomous aircraft and that could provide them with ultra-short runway capabilities that could otherwise not be achieved by conventional mechanical landing gear systems.
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